After a lull in clashes that erupted following President Mwai Kibaki's disputed re-election at Dec. 27 polls, Kibaki named 17 ministers on Tuesday -- prompting further protests.

Witnesses said one man was shot dead in Kisumu, a western stronghold of opposition leader Raila Odinga, where hundreds of rioters built burning barricades and stoned cars.

Slum residents in Nairobi said opposition supporters also took to the streets, some of them brandishing machetes.

"They are going wild. They are very angry about the new cabinet,"Onyango Apudo, a boxer who lives in the capital's sprawling Mathare shanty-town, told Reuters.

Locals in Kibera, another Nairobi slum that is one of Africa's biggest, said Odinga supporters were also demonstrating there, and that vehicles heading for the area were turning back.

Nearly 500 people have died in the violence and tribal clashes since an election that the opposition says was rigged and foreign monitors said fell short of democratic standards.

Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) on Tuesday rejected an offer of bilateral talks from Kibaki, saying they would be a "sideshow" if not chaired by international mediators.

Hours later, Kibaki unveiled a cabinet that the opposition saw as an attempt to cement his victory and reduce the scope for a national unity government, which he also offered earlier.

The ODM said Kibaki's move was illegal and made a mockery of his agreement to enter serious talks mediated by AU chairman and Ghanaian President John Kufuor, who arrived for crisis meetings with both sides.

INTERNATIONAL PRESSUREKibaki did not invite Kufuor to the bilateral talks, and Kenyan government officials said the AU leader would only stay in Nairobi for little more than 24 hours.

Washington pressed Kenya's opposition and government to hold talks as its top diplomat for Africa, Jendayi Frazer, extended a visit to help reconcile the two.

"It is of primary importance that they open up those channels of communication," a State Department spokesman said.

Stoking anger among ODM supporters, Kibaki retained several figures in his new cabinet who are loathed by the opposition, including former hardline Internal Security Minister John Michuki, who moved to the roads ministry.

Kibaki said his partial cabinet would ensure the government was able to run the country as required by the constitution.

"When my government is fully constituted as a result of dialogue, it will be broad-based and represent the will of the people of Kenya," he said in a statement late on Tuesday.

Much of Kenya's post-election turmoil has pitted ethnic Luo supporters of Odinga against Kikuyu members of Kibaki's tribe and the security forces.

But Kibaki's naming of Kalonzo Musyoka, from the Kamba ethnic group, as vice-president triggered attacks on Kambas, who some ODM supporters accused of selling out the opposition. "The Luos are now targeting Kambas, saying they should go and join the Kikuyus," one Kibera resident told Reuters.

Musyoka, a former foreign minister, came a distant third in the presidential election, behind Kibaki and Odinga.

Despite huge international pressure, especially from Western powers, the two front-runners have still not met face-to-face since trouble started when Kibaki was sworn in on Dec. 30.

Odinga says Kibaki must step down and agree to a new election. Kibaki is reluctant to accept international mediation and his officials say the crisis is an internal matter.

On Tuesday, Finance Minister Amos Kimunya -- who was reappointed to the same job -- told Reuters the turmoil could cost east Africa's biggest economy around $1 billion.

The International Monetary Fund's Africa director, Abdoulaye Bio-Tchane, said supplies of commodities, including petroleum, had been disrupted to and from neighbouring Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Sudan, which all rely on Kenya's port of Mombasa.

He said the overall impact had been limited, but if the crisis persisted, "the consequences could be much more severe."

Britain and the United States have pressed Kibaki and Odinga to negotiate a solution to one of the worst crises since Kenya's independence from Britain in 1963.

What Africa needs

We are called to assist the earth to heal her wounds and in the process heal our own -- indeed, to embrace the whole creation in all its diversity, beauty, and wonder.- Wangari MaathaiKenyan environmentalist, political activist, and 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

Africa: Crisis Points

Crisis in Congo

Congo is Kenya's neighbor. Crisis in the region causes instability in neighboring countries. Quakers have a significant community in eastern Congo, experiencing desperate living conditions. A quarter million people have been displaced in this most recent chapter of the civil war in Congo. Here's how you can help:

+ Read posts about the escalating crisis in Congo+ Act by contacting elected officials+ Pray for all concerned that the conflict may be ended+ Give generously to support relief efforts.

Encourage your Quaker meeting or Friends church to get involved in bringing peace in Congo, one of the ten most under-reported humanitarian stories for the past decade (Doctors without Borders).

God's Politics Blog

Never doubt

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”--Margaret Mead (1901-1978)

Give generously

The need and opportunity for pastoral leadership and ministry...in Kenya has never been so vital.At the same time, the challenges for ministry in East Africa are greater than ever.> Give generously toFUM's "Kenya Relief Fund."Kindly earmark your gift for this purpose.

Welcome to Kenya News

This blog was created by Mary Kay Rehard and is intended as a place Friends (Quakers) and others may share news about Kenya, especially regarding the crisis of post-election violence. Disclaimer: The views expressed in postings do not necessarily reflect the views of myself or any organization mentioned on this site. Messages may contain breaking news and details should be confirmed.Check out the links belowfor news and updates out of Kenya, background and ways to give funds for relief. Click on any of the Blog Archive listings to view a posting.> View a concise chronology of the post-election crisis.

Daily Devotions from Taizé

Whoever seeks reconciliation with a simple heart is able to pass through rock-hard situations like the water of a stream that, in early springtime, makes its way through the still-frozen ground. -Brother Roger of Taizé.

There are physical forms of violence on earth, including war, torture, murder…. There are other more subtle forms of violence that are concealed in cunning tactics, in suspicion, mistrust, humiliation…. “There is no violence in God. God sent Christ not to accuse us, but to call us to himself, not to condemn us, but because he loves us.”-Letter to Diognetus

Friends Plan Peace Conference - Jan 24-27 Kakamega

Kenyan Yearly Meetings and Quaker organizations will hold a Quaker Peace Conference 24-27th January 2008 at Sheywe Guest House, Kakamega, to analyze recent events in Kenya and discern God’s call for Friends’ ministries in this context.

The conference will bring together 60 participants, including the leaders of all fifteen Kenyan Yearly Meetings, the leaders of the Kenyan Quaker peace organizations, and others representing Friends programmes and ministries, including schools, hospitals, and evangelistic missions.

Participants will explore seven themes in small groups:

+ Peace and non-violence as central to the gospel+ Trauma healing and post-conflict ministries+ Humanitarian needs, Internally Displaced People and vulnerable populations+ Ethnic conflict and reconciliation toward a harmonious society+ Preaching and evangelism in the present context+ The mission of our institutions of education and healthcare+ Global partnership and the role of our international/ecumenical partners

Worship and Biblical reflections will be woven throughout the programme.

The purpose of the conference is to pray together for unity and purposeas Friends, to offer the gift of our Testimonies to our nation of Kenya during this time of unrest, and through the long process of reconciliation and healing that lies ahead.

Finding the actors: data on selected peace organizations in Kenya

By Wakuraya Wanjohi, in Wajibu 2007

A number of organizations in Kenya have made it their concern, not only to try and solve conflict between warring groups but also to teach individuals how they can become better instruments of peacemaking. In the overview of such groups below, we have excluded most organizations that work on a district or provincial level.

For information about these bodies, the organization to contact is PeaceNet. It is PeaceNet’s objective to coordinate the work of the various peace groups in the country. We have also included organizations that work on pan-African or international level but which have a substantial local programme.

Security Research and Information CentreBox 56622 Nbi 00200449503sric - at - srickenya.orgSecurity Research and Information

Shinystat

The answers to Kenya's problems are in Kenya. In fact, God is in Kenya, though sometimes in disguise. One of the best things we can offer Kenya is to look for God here, to document not the atrocities but the epiphanies of God here. --Dr Raymond Downing, Webuye, Kenya